Dear Sir/Madam,
It is with great anticipation and excitement as I am writing to apply for a position in your
company as a product designer. I was introduced to this company from my professor Peer M.
Sathikh.
I understand that your work spans diverse categories, including domestic appliances,
home/lifestyle products, graphic design and interactive experiences. This gives me a much
diversified career path as design experiences should not be limited to a particular field. As a
product design major graduate from NTU, I am happy to contribute my skills to assigned
projects as well as to learn and experience design expertise in other fields. I am very much
interested in increasing my design experience so that I can be better qualified to contribute to the
companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s success.
I am grateful for your taking time to review my letter and consider my application for this
position. I have left my contact number and email address with the HR department for a followup meeting.
Sincerely yours,

Tam Kwan Yuen

Company Profile on IKEA

Company:
The world’s largest furniture retailer, IKEA is an internationally known home furnishing
company that is recognized for its Scandinavian style. It has grown rapidly since its founding in
1943.
Headquarters:
Älmhult, Småland, Sweden
Address in Singapore:
317 Alexandra Road, Singapore 159965
Revenue:
23.1 billion Euros (2009)
Net Income:
2.5 billion Euros (2009)
Employees:
127,000
Key persons:
Thomas Bergström (Chairman and CEO), Omar Gulay (President and CEO, Inter IKEA Group),
Sören Hansen (VP and CFO, Inter IKEA Group)
Founding of IKEA:
IKEA was founded in 1943 by 17-year-old Ingvar Kamprad in Sweden, and the acronym IKEA
stands for the initials of his name (Ingvar Kamprad Elmtaryd Agunnaryd).
Introduction:
IKEA carries a range of 9,500 products which include home furnishing and accessories. There
are restaurants and cafes that sell typical Swedish food in IKEA stores. They also have small
food shops selling Swedish groceries, ranging from the famous meatballs to jam. Stores are
located worldwide. In August 2008, the IKEA group had 253 stores in 24 countries, with a
further 32 stores owned and run by franchisees. Low pricing is one of the main strategies of the

IKEA concept and help to make IKEA goods more affordable to customers. This low price
strategy is coupled with a wide range of aesthetically pleasing and functional products.
Since it was founded IKEA has always had concern for people and the environment. The IKEA
vision 'to create a better everyday life for the many people' puts this concern at the core of the
business. IKEA has responded to the public’s rising concern for sustainability in its choice of
product range, suppliers, stores and communication. It has also foreseen business potential in
providing sustainable solutions. IKEA's concern for people and the environment encourages it to
make better use of both raw materials and energy. This keeps costs down and helps the company
to reach its conservation objectives and have an overall positive impact on the environment.
SWOT analysis
Strengths

Weakness

•

Strong international brand

•

Reliance on European market

•

Unique business model

•

Low level of customer service

•

Volume commitments

•

Size and scale of business

•

'Smarter' use of raw materials
Opportunities

Threat

•

Environmentally focused – good
returns

•

Less sales volume for first-time
customers

•

Sustainability of resources

•

Emerging competitors

•

Recession slows down spending

Strengths
•

IKEA has a strong internationally known brand attracting key demographic customer
groups. It has a strong brand name in most countries in the world.

•

The IKEA business model is unique in its construction and execution with little direct
competition. Therefore, it has a comparative advantage over its already few competitors.

•

IKEA believes in creating long-term partnerships with its suppliers in order to achieve
this. By committing to buying large volumes over a number of years IKEA can negotiate
lower prices, which is an application of economies of scale. This also benefits the

suppliers because they enjoy the greater security of having guaranteed orders.
•

IKEA increased the use of recycled or reclaimed waste products in energy production
across all stores from 84% in 2007 to 90% in 2009. In addition, IKEA's OGLA chair has
been in its range since 1980, but the chair has changed through the years to reduce the
amount of raw materials needed.

Weakness
•

Whilst an international brand there is a level of reliance on European markets with 90%
of the stores based in Europe and the balance across America, Middle East and Asia.

•

Although the model promotes low prices, it has been identified that there is an associated
low level of customer service suggests there is a need to work on service to ensure a
complete shopping experience and to ensure repeat business within the existing customer
base.

•

Size of global business could make it hard to control standards and quality. Some
countries where IKEA products are made do not implement the legislation to control
working conditions. This could represent a weak link in IKEA's supply chain, since
consumer views of IKEA's products can be affected.

Opportunities
•

IKEA believes that its environmentally focused business conduct will result in good
returns even in a price sensitive market.

Some of the opportunities that IKEA takes advantage of through its sustainability agenda are:
1. a growing demand for more environmentally-friendly products
2. a growing demand for low priced products. Trends in the current financial climate may
result in consumers trading down from more expensive stores
3. need for reduced water usage and lower carbon footprints.
•

IKEA has a number of areas of focus to its work with sustainability, each of which it
supports in various ways:

1. Solutions for a sustainable life at home.
2. Sustainable use of resources. IKEA aims for zero waste to landfill, wastewater treatment
and ways to reduce its use of water.
3. Reducing carbon footprint. IKEA aims to reduce energy use, use more renewable energy,
and reduce its use of air transport and packaging.
4. Developing social responsibility. IKEA's policy includes support for organizations such
as the WWF, UNICEF and Save the Children.

Threats
•
•

•

Social trends – such as the slowdown in first time buyers entering the housing market.
This is a core market segment for IKEA products.
Market forces – there are more competitors entering the low-price household and
furnishings markets. IKEA needs to reinforce its unique qualities to compete with its
emerging competitors.
Economic factors – recessions slow down consumer spending, thus reducing disposable
income which directly influences IKEA’s revenues and profit margins.

Conclusion
IKEA has developed a strong brand name over the years and its products are affordable to most
consumers as compared to other higher end furnishing retailers. It generates good returns due to
its environmentally-friendly theme and sustainability of resources which resulted from low-cost
raw materials. It has considerable advantage over its current local competitors, few of which
have established substantial market foothold in the furniture market. It can be seen that if IKEA
continues to produce at a low-cost, environmentally-friendly way, it will ensure that emerging
competitors will find it even more difficult to override its success.
Hence, IKEA’s strengths reduce the significance of its weaknesses which do not directly affect
its turnover rate and market value. In addition to the quality of products sold and strong brand
name, its stability as a home furnishing company gives me great confidence to join its design
team. I believe that IKEA will continue to make strong progress since the depth of its design,
production and marketing processes have proven its continual success.
IKEA’s design concepts are also similar to my personal goals which include environmental
awareness as well as simplicity and affordability. With these fitting qualities, it is therefore an
important consideration in my career choice.
Sources:
http://www.businessteacher.org.uk/business-resources/swot-analysis-database/ikea-swot-analysis/
http://www.thetimes100.co.uk/case-study--swot-analysis-and-sustainable-business-planning--110-368-1.php

Company Profile on Apple

Company:
Apple Inc. is an American multinational corporation that designs and markets consumer
electronics, computer software, and personal computers. The company's best-known hardware
products include the Macintosh line of computers, the iPod, the iPhone and the iPad.
Headquarters:
1 Infinite Loop, Cupertino, California, U.S.
Address in Singapore:
7 Ang Mo Kio Street 64, Singapore 569086
Revenue:
US$42.91 billion (2009)
Net Income:
US$8.24 billion (2009)
Employees:
49,400 (2010)
Key persons:
Steve Jobs (Co-founder, Chairman and CEO), Tim Cook (COO), Peter Oppenheimer
(CFO), Bob Mansfield (Mac and iPhone Hardware Engineering), Jonathan Ive (Industrial Design)
Founding of Apple:
Apple was established on April 1, 1976 by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne to sell
the Apple I personal computer kit. The Apple I was priced at $666.66. Jobs and Wozniak sold
their first 100 computers to a local dealer. In 1980, Apple went public and Jobs and Wozniak
became multimillionaires.
Introduction:
Apple was established on April 1, 1976 in Cupertino, California, and incorporated on January 3,
1977. The company has then shown its movement towards expansion into the consumer
electronics market, in addition to its traditional focus on personal computers. As of September 25,

2010, Apple had 46,600 full time employees and 2,800 temporary full time employees
worldwide and had worldwide annual sales of $42.91 billion in its fiscal year ending September
26, 2009.
Apple has established a unique reputation in the consumer electronics industry due to its
philosophy of comprehensive aesthetic design as well as distinctive advertising campaigns,. This
includes a customer base that is loyal to the company and its brand, particularly in the United
States. Fortune magazine named Apple the most admired company in the United States in 2008,
and in the world in 2008, 2009, and 2010.
SWOT analysis
Strengths

Weakness

•

Strong brand name

•

High prices

•

iTunes provide large portion of revenue

•

Apple OS supports limited software

•

Partnership with IT giants

•

Presence of major competitors

•

Strong research and development
Opportunities

Threats

•

Increasing demand of online music

•

Many competitors in the market

•

Appeals to brand conscious consumers

•

•

High laptop market growth

Launching
Microsoft

•

•

Impact of recession on sales volume

Increasing market share by reducing
prices

of

Windows

Vista

by

Strengths
•

Apple has a strong brand name that creates a deep impression in the minds of people.
Apple has been amongst the well reputed brands in the industry of information
technology. It also stood up to its name by introducing new products such as iPod, iPad
and laptops in the market to impress customers with its innovative, portable and attractive
designs.

•

iTunes Music Store is a excellent source of revenue, especially with the iPod and the
accessibility on the Windows platform. The Apple iPod music player a great innovation
that not only increases company sales but also influences consumers to get experience of
Apple notebook and its operating system.

•

Apple has signed a partnership with Intel computers in 2006 to the present. This gives
Apple an edge over competitors since its ideas and innovations can be marketed through
hardware production by such firms that produce complementary products.
Apple is an expert at developing its own hardware and software department due to its
strong research and development department. It also uses web technology to improve
product awareness and sales. All these gives Apple a good brand loyalty among its
customers

•

Weakness
•
•
•

Apple has to reduce the high prices of its products that might hinder consumers from
lower income groups from purchasing them.
Apple’s operating system supports limited software which leads to people turning to
Microsoft Windows to run different applications.
Apple’s market share is far behind its major competitor Microsoft. Therefore its presence
in the market is weak and it relies on education and publishing to maintain its profit
margins.

Opportunities
•

Downloadable music and MP3 players are highly marketable among the younger
generation. Hence, Apple can market iTunes to attract more customers.

•

There is a large group in the population which is extremely individualistic and brand
conscious. Apple can make use of its brand name to appeal to this group by marketing
products with higher quality interface and aesthetics.
The laptop market growth is increasing; hence Apple should focus to develop new
models to cater the need of customers. This trend is especially evident among local
students.
With its already high pricing, Apple can create higher revenues by reducing prices to an
extent that will maximize profits. This will then move Apple closer to its competitors in
terms of market shares.

•

•

Threats
•
•
•

There is intense competition with other IT giants such as Dell, Microsoft, HP, IBM, Sony
and Toshiba, all of which have significant market shares.
Microsoft launched Windows 7 with attractive user interface as well as rich features. Mac
users may consider switching to Windows 7, hence resulting in loss of consumer loyalty.
Economic crises will have a greater negative impact on Apples sales because consumer
spending will be switched to lower-end products. With its high pricing, Apple will lose
significant income from consumers during bad times.

Conclusion
Apple has a strong and unique brand name that appeals to many who desire aesthetically
pleasing user interface. Apple iTunes serves as a convenient downloadable music source that is
popular among the student and working population. In addition to its marketing success, it has
been viewed as one of the more attractive and innovative design firms by many well-reputed
critics such as Fortune magazine. Hence, their achievement on the global stage is a very
attractive platform for which aspiring designers can look to in establishing theirs careers.
I believe that design should not only be functional but should also appeal to the senses and
emotions which are an integral part of human living. Hence, the sleek and aesthetically pleasing
user-interface of Apple computers and products give consumers a sense of importance by
owning them. Apple’s designs are also very innovative as they follow a certain design
framework that serves to accentuate its strong brand name.
Due to the presence of strong competitors and high prices, Apple has to improve on its design
and pricing strategies in order to stay afloat in the intensely competitive IT market.
Apple’s designs are appealing due to its strong branding, innovation, while at the same time
having functional qualities such as stability to the end-user. These qualities attract me to consider
joining the design team as it is my goal to establish myself as a designer in products of the best
quality in all areas. Hence, I believe Apple is a suitable choice in my career considerations.
Sources:
http://www.freeswotanalysis.com/information-technology-swot/80-apple-swot-analysis.html
http://www.mba-tutorials.com/marketing/273-apple-swot-analysis.html